Men's Basketball

Men's Basketball Downs UMass Boston, 88-76

BOSTON, MA-The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth men's basketball team built a 42-29 halftime lead and went on to defeat host UMass Boston, 88-76, in the second game of a Little East Conference doubleheader at the Clark Athletic Center Saturday.

The Corsairs, who trailed, 23-21, with 6:39 to play in the first half, outscored the Beacons, 21-6, during the remainder of the half to take a 13-point halftime lead. Junior forward Brandon Stephens (Dorchester, MA/Newton North HS) put UMass Dartmouth ahead to stay with a lay-up and free throw, then contributed a lay-up and two more three-pointer during the run, which also featured a pair of lay-ups and a trey by senior forward Brandon Shelton (Cambridge, MA/Cambridge Rindge & Latin HS/UMass Lowell), and a thee-pointer by sophomore guard Paul Rose (Boston, MA/North Cambridge Catholic HS/Massachusetts Bay CC).

A 22-14 run by the Corsairs at the start of the second half put UMD ahead, 64-43, with 13:21 remaining. The Beacons bounced back, outscoring UMass Dartmouth, 16-4, to reduce the margin to 68-59 with 10:04 to play. UMass Boston used a three-point play by Kyle King to cut the lead to 83-76 with 2:06 to play, but could come no closer, as Shelton made a pair of free throws, sophomore center Lance Greene (Dorchester, MA/Charlestown HS/UMass Lowell)added another, and sophomore guard Alex Klepadlo (Bernardston, MA/Pioneer Valley Regional HS) added a lay-up with 40 seconds to play.

Stephens led all scorers with 32 points, Greene added 21 points, 14 rebounds and five steals, and Shelton had 20 points. King had 21 points for UMass Boston, Jason White had 17 and Ernst Jean added 13. Jean grabbed 13 rebounds as UMB out rebounded the Corsairs, 42-38. But UMass Dartmouth forced 27 turnovers and made 47.9 per cent of their shots from the field.

"We played well," said UMass Dartmouth Head Coach Brian Baptiste. "We got ahead, but they made a run at the end and made it a tight game. We forced them to turn the ball over quite a bit in the first half, and they only got three baskets off our press. Once we got the lead, we slowed it down, and Brandon Shelton scored a couple of times with five seconds left on the clock. They came back, ran the break and got to the foul line. Lance had a great game with 21 points and 14 rebounds, and came out of nowhere to block shots. He had a big game on both ends of the floor."

The Corsairs improved to 11-5 and 4-2 in the Little East Conference with the victory, while the Beacons dropped to 3-14 and 1-5 with the defeat. UMass Dartmouth will return to action when they host Plymouth State in the second game of a Little East Conference doubleheader Saturday.